Watched a youtube video of a guy setting the Marges up with 2.88 Gorilla tape. Since I already had a roll, tried it. It fits perfectly up under the lip on both sides and the D4's mounted up easy. Will try it this weekend.

Alternate rim strip

I have some positive news.
After needing to replace a tire I figured I would replace the clown shoe strip that has been in there for the last two new tire setups (seemed like a good idea?). I had two spare CS strips on hand. I went online to order replacements for my stock, and then ended up here when I couldnt locate any CS strips. After thoroughly checking everywhere and only coming up with overpriced or overpriced shipping options (europe). I sent bikeman.com a message and they magically found a set that I promptly ordered. The guy there Forrest, told me that there is another rim strip they carry that is 75MM. It is $9.99 but you get two of them for that price. Eclypse, Holeshot 75, Fat Bike rim strip, 26'', 75mm, BlackBikeman Eclypse, Holeshot 75, Fat Bike rim strip, 26'', 75mm, Black

Of course there is always the question of if these are comparable to the surly ones or not, longevity, etc.
Anyone want to be the guinea pig?

So I see on this thread that some of you are running the Clownshoe rim strip over a Marge Lite rim strip so that the CS rim strip doesn't bulge. Can anyone post a picture of just the Clownshoe rim strip set up tubeless? I'd like to see how much it actually bulges.

So I see on this thread that some of you are running the Clownshoe rim strip over a Marge Lite rim strip so that the CS rim strip doesn't bulge. Can anyone post a picture of just the Clownshoe rim strip set up tubeless? I'd like to see how much it actually bulges.

I am using both the Clown Shoe and the Marge Lite strip and there is decent sized bulge through the holes...about 5/16" at 9 psi. I just cannot imagine using only the Clown Shoe strip.

Since the CS rimstrips are no longer available, I used Origin8 rim strips
I wanted the 75mm ones but got 85mm by mistake; which turns out to be helpful since the valve holes were punched a little off center, and trimming them down to 75mm meant I could recenter them.

One Tip I discovered:
the seam where the two ends of the vinyl rim strip are bonded, seems to be a problem area for sealing, had a bit of sealant leak through there, but it eventually stopped overnight.
For the second wheel, I sanded down that seam area of the rimstrip, so there's a smooth transition where the ends overlap; this sealed up much faster.

a question:
I'm using Orange Seal sealant
and seem to be getting thin watery ?suspension/solvent? liquid (less color compared to the raw sealant) bleeding through the sidewalls and the bead in a few spots
pressure seems to be holding
is that normal/ going to stop eventually?

Yesterday I made two (so far) successful conversions with ML and CS rim strip (although I put some tape under it in order to prevent bulging from rim holes).

*4.4" Jumbo Jim (Snakeskin): the tyre seated with floor pump and some soap water. Of course I used inner tube to seat another bead first). One of the easiest tubeless conversions ever.
*Bud: this was also relatively easy, although I had to use a diy tubeless inflator and pump the tyre up to 1,5 bar before dropping the pressures to normal because I had some problems to get the other bead seat properly.

I used about 2 dl of Stan's to both tyres and the JJ has still basically all of it inside. The Bud leaked a little before sealing (but even that came from the valve area).

Afterwards I dropped the pressures to 0.4 bar (front) and 0,35 bar (rear) and drove diagonally to pavement edges and stairs in order to see whether the tyres stay seated (they did).

Oh, and before installing the rim strips, I filed the strips' seam area a little because the bonded area was a little wider.

a question:
I'm using Orange Seal sealant
and seem to be getting thin watery ?suspension/solvent? liquid (less color compared to the raw sealant) bleeding through the sidewalls and the bead in a few spots
pressure seems to be holding
is that normal/ going to stop eventually?

I had exactly the same problem - thin/watery Orange Seal bleeding through my Knards 120TPI - and a lot, so I had to clean the tire and change to tubes. It was after a cold night well below freezing, so I thought that could be one of the problems. But reading your experience, I guess the problem could also be the thin compound Knards. Apparently, tires not designed for tubeless conversions can be prone to such problems.

That is a common issue until a layer of sealant covers the interior of the tire and hardens, forming a sealant skin.
Yeah it's messy. Since I tend to swap tires for different rides I went back to Surly Lite tubes and gave up on the marathon tire change process.
Also, my bikes live in my house where they are warm and happy. Don't want the mess of an incontinent bike anymore. :/

1 goat head in 3 years of daily driving doesn't make it worth the effort, and the sealant skin was making my tires feel like DH tires with thornproof tubes. Way too dead for play time.

I am now very happy with my Origin8 rimstrips (clownshoe unavailable) on MargeLite with Orange Seal, Tubeless conversion.

The aforementioned problem, of Orange Seal bleeding solvent through the beads and sidewalls went away after a few days of Riding.
Apparently it just needed some time to fully distribute all the latex particles and get everything fully sealed up.

self-steering is much reduced (hows that work anyway? less mass? less resistance?)
and running lower psi really helps with less slipping on uphill dirt

They say, that for emergencies you should carry a tube around, But I'm actually tempted to ride without any flat contingency plan.
I figure, any small puncture is going to be self-sealing, and anything big enough to defeat the sealant, is going to be a catastrophic cut that a spare tube won't help with anyway.

I am now very happy with my Origin8 rimstrips (clownshoe unavailable) on MargeLite with Orange Seal, Tubeless conversion.

The aforementioned problem, of Orange Seal bleeding solvent through the beads and sidewalls went away after a few days of Riding.
Apparently it just needed some time to fully distribute all the latex particles and get everything fully sealed up.

self-steering is much reduced (hows that work anyway? less mass? less resistance?)
and running lower psi really helps with less slipping on uphill dirt

They say, that for emergencies you should carry a tube around, But I'm actually tempted to ride without any flat contingency plan.
I figure, any small puncture is going to be self-sealing, and anything big enough to defeat the sealant, is going to be a catastrophic cut that a spare tube won't help with anyway.

I am now very happy with my Origin8 rimstrips (clownshoe unavailable) on MargeLite with Orange Seal, Tubeless conversion.

The aforementioned problem, of Orange Seal bleeding solvent through the beads and sidewalls went away after a few days of Riding.
Apparently it just needed some time to fully distribute all the latex particles and get everything fully sealed up.

self-steering is much reduced (hows that work anyway? less mass? less resistance?)
and running lower psi really helps with less slipping on uphill dirt

They say, that for emergencies you should carry a tube around, But I'm actually tempted to ride without any flat contingency plan.
I figure, any small puncture is going to be self-sealing, and anything big enough to defeat the sealant, is going to be a catastrophic cut that a spare tube won't help with anyway.

That's why you carry a tire boot and tube. No excuse to not have a tube with in my opinion.

I've used this set up for a while and been happy with it on 4 wheels. I put a new tyre on recently and found that the clownshoe strip would no longer seal the rim. I couldn't see where air was leaking under the strip, so I put a new strip on.

This isn't the end of the world as I have a few spares, but has anyone had experience in reusing the strip after changing tyres?

I don't know if I missed it, but has anyone run this set up at <2psi? I'm often at 0.5-1psi in deep snow. It seems that split tube seems to work better, as the tube itself adheres to the tire bead better.

I don't know if I missed it, but has anyone run this set up at <2psi? I'm often at 0.5-1psi in deep snow. It seems that split tube seems to work better, as the tube itself adheres to the tire bead better.

I have, using a VEE Snowshoe XL, a couple of seasons ago. It worked fine. I've currently got a panaracer fat b nimble mounted up; it's been on there for about a year and a half. The sealant has dried up, but it is still holding air.

I've found that if I leave my Beargrease out in the sun, it heats up the black rim strip and I get 1" plus bumps out through the rim cutouts. They look like mushrooms! The first time I used just a 70mm rim strip. After the stretching happened, I tried a 70mm rim strip with a 45mm rim strip over it, thinking it would reinforce the strip over the cut outs. It did it again. Anyone have suggestions? Would clear gorilla tape over the narrower rim strip solve the problem? Will I be able to set up the tires tubeless (Jumbo Jims) with just the thickness of the gorilla tape at the rim bead?

I've found that if I leave my Beargrease out in the sun, it heats up the black rim strip and I get 1" plus bumps out through the rim cutouts. They look like mushrooms! The first time I used just a 70mm rim strip. After the stretching happened, I tried a 70mm rim strip with a 45mm rim strip over it, thinking it would reinforce the strip over the cut outs. It did it again. Anyone have suggestions? Would clear gorilla tape over the narrower rim strip solve the problem? Will I be able to set up the tires tubeless (Jumbo Jims) with just the thickness of the gorilla tape at the rim bead?

The reinforcing strip needs to go Under the sealing strip. Not Over it.
It can't block your seal from blowing out of the cutouts, if its not standing In-Between them.

I read this whole thread and see a number of people saying that the CS strip is not available, but Jenson has them - 65mm.

So I assume if I'm reading this correctly, I put the ML (45mm) strip on first, then the CS (65mm) over top, then my tires, with a few ounces of favorite sealant (perhaps letting it sit overnight with a tube first). Is that all I need?

Other question - for the colored strips - how well do these clean up from dust/dirt/mud - or should I just stick with black?

People are using the 75mm PVC clownshoe rim strip. The strip you mention is the narrower nylon one and I doubt it's wide enough to work properly. While surly says both types are produced (https://surlybikes.com/parts/wheels/rim_strip) no one seems to sell it. Perhaps ask Surly.

There are still a few places outside the US that seem to have old stock, although prices vary a lot:

I use a the standard ML rim strip first and then the CS strip. I put a tube in it first for a few hours to settle things down and then pop the bead off one side to remove the tube. I can then usually inflate with a floor pump. It seems a lot of people just use the CS strip.

I've actually held the Surly Nylon strips, and despite being less stretchy than pvc, they actually feel pretty flexible. I suspect that as long as the width is right they'd work fine as a tubeless seal.

One of my bikes is using the Origin-8 strips
They have production quality issues, I had to pick and choose since some of them have ugly molding seams going right through the valve hole cutout; which would interfere with valve sealing.
Also, the hole wasn't always centered, so I choose one size larger at 85mm, and trimmed them down to recenter the hole.
a bunch of work to make them work.

People are using the 75mm PVC clownshoe rim strip. The strip you mention is the narrower nylon one and I doubt it's wide enough to work properly. While surly says both types are produced (https://surlybikes.com/parts/wheels/rim_strip) no one seems to sell it. Perhaps ask Surly.

There are still a few places outside the US that seem to have old stock, although prices vary a lot:

I use a the standard ML rim strip first and then the CS strip. I put a tube in it first for a few hours to settle things down and then pop the bead off one side to remove the tube. I can then usually inflate with a floor pump. It seems a lot of people just use the CS strip.

Tim

you need the old-school 75mm strip (or larger), the newer, narrower jawns won't work. The one that I used shortly after starting this thread is still holding air. Granted, I haven't used that wheel in over 2 years, but it does still have air in it.

you need the old-school 75mm strip (or larger), the newer, narrower jawns won't work. The one that I used shortly after starting this thread is still holding air. Granted, I haven't used that wheel in over 2 years, but it does still have air in it.

Thanks for the info...being hard to source has anyone tried taping over the ML strip with a 75mm wide tubeless rim tape - like the Orange Seal rim tape?

I got some of the origin 8 strips and tried to air them up last night. Did not work at all. I had a lot of leaking around the valve stem and the overlap seal, that would not hold air. I will try the trick with sanding it down, but I would have to say, so far, I don't feel like I would have a lot of confidence in the setup holding.

Well - I was able to actually find some of the 75mm PVC clown shoe rim strips. NOS at some random bike shop - thanks google! Only $5 a pop, unlike the $20 for overseas orders.

Before you ask - no they don't have any more, they only had 2, two different colors...but that doesn't matter I don't think since I'll be putting the Marge Lite strips on first then the clowns on top of that.

Question for those that have actually done this (CS strip on ML rim)....

I put the ML strip on first, then the CS strip over that (yes the 75mm PVC ones).

After nearly breaking my fingers to get the CS strip on, it looks as though it's a bit wide, as in there's a bit of extra in the middle of the rim that's bubbling up - ie its not flat. The strip is going completely from side to side (right under the bead hooks).

Is this normal/correct? Right now I have it setting with tubes to try iron everything out.

Question for those that have actually done this (CS strip on ML rim)....

I put the ML strip on first, then the CS strip over that (yes the 75mm PVC ones).

After nearly breaking my fingers to get the CS strip on, it looks as though it's a bit wide, as in there's a bit of extra in the middle of the rim that's bubbling up - ie its not flat. The strip is going completely from side to side (right under the bead hooks).

Is this normal/correct? Right now I have it setting with tubes to try iron everything out.

Sounds like you are on the right track. I remember taking a razor blade to the seam of the Clown Shoe strip to smooth out the "lump" of double material thickness near the edges because mine leaked there when aired up.

Sounds like you are on the right track. I remember taking a razor blade to the seam of the Clown Shoe strip to smooth out the "lump" of double material thickness near the edges because mine leaked there when aired up.

So it's ok that it's bunched up in the center channel of the rim some?

Bunched up parallel with the center channel, yes that's fine. That's just air space in the tire.
Bunched up perpendicular to the rim, that probably won't seal at the bead.

Yeah it's just not perfectly smooth from side to side - like it's a MM or 2 too wide, so I made it smooth on the edges where the tire bead would seat, on the lip/hook whatever that part of the rim is called...and then just pushed the excess in the center of the rim so it's a little bubbly there.

Yeah it's just not perfectly smooth from side to side - like it's a MM or 2 too wide, so I made it smooth on the edges where the tire bead would seat, on the lip/hook whatever that part of the rim is called...and then just pushed the excess in the center of the rim so it's a little bubbly there.

I think I pulled the material out to the edge and up against the lip of the rim making sure to have equal amounts on both sides. It has been a while and the tires are still holding air after two years!

I hope you are able to get it to work for you. The origin 8 strips did not work for me. Several attempts later they are in the trash. 3 wraps of Tyvek tape and the are sealed up great on the first try, and much lighter to boot.